Archive for March, 2013

I guess you can say that I’m one of those people who goes against the grain. While everyone else is eating processed foods and low fat, low calorie meals. I’m doing the exact opposite.

And you know what? I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. I eat bacon on a regular basis and eggs almost every day. Butter is in my fridge, not margerine. I eat cheese and high fat foods without counting calories. I don’t fear fat, I don’t fear calories. I eat until I’m satisfied, I never starve.

Is that even possible?

Eating this way, I never thought it would be possible to not care about calories and fat and still lose weight. I never thought that having bacon and eggs every day was actually healthy. I am here to tell you that eating this way, it goes against everything you were taught to AVOID but you really should AVOID it at all!

I came across this article today while venturing through my websites and blogs I check on a regular basis. It’s called Bacon, Ice Cream and cheese are all good for your health. I kind of laughed when I saw it, I thought to myself well, they got it kind of right, either way it piqued my curiousity!

So I read to see what the article said…

It was actually really accurate, the only problem that I had was the ICE CREAM in the title. Now processed ice cream, the stuff you buy in stores, it’s full of sugar and other processed gunk.. now the stuff that is good for you, would probably be the stuff you make at home in an ice cream maker. It tastes a million times better and has no added processed gunk!

For every food that is not allowed in the Paleo diet, there is a reason that can back it up, aside from a simple “because it’s not good for your health”. The number one enemy of the Paleo diet is processed foods. The reason being is because they have unnatural additives that are not healthy at all.

Listed below are the dangerous additives that you will want to look out for:
Sodium Nitrite – to increase the shelf life of products, sodium nitrite is added. This is the reason why storing food has become quite convenient for us. Food is no longer easily spoiled or grows mold. The problem here though, is that by adding chemicals to make food storage convenient, we risk our own health. Sodium nitrite is added to our food, but it is known to increase the risks of pancreatic cancer and leukemia and also increases the risk of brain tumor in infants.

Sodium nitrite is especially used in processed meats that you can keep for months in the pantry or refrigerator. Examples are hotdogs, bacon, ham, beef jerky, and lunch meat. This is why the Paleo diet restricts eating anything that is canned or packaged.

Salt – you probably didn’t expect to find salt in this list because it’s natural and essential in cooking, but the sad truth is that we’re abusing our salt intake which is why we need to slow down in using it. Most people will argue that they only use a very minimal amount of salt when they cook, and this is good because you don’t really need all that much to flavor the food.
We may limit and control how much salt we put in the food that we are preparing, but what we cannot limit is the amount of salt that companies put in our packaged and easy to prepare foods. Salt also makes a foods’ shelf life longer and enhances the flavor of the processed food, which is why there is so much used in processed convenience foods. But it is important to cut back, because too much salt (more than a teaspoon daily) is directly linked to fatal strokes and many heart diseases.
Aspartame – aspartame is an artificial sweetener and is commonly found in diet and sugar-free foods. People are becoming more aware of the unhealthy amounts of sugar that they consume and in trying to have a healthier diet, they opt for diet sodas and sugar-free ice cream. What they don’t know is that by opting for a supposedly low sugar diet, they are risking their health because aspartame is actually a toxic substance when consumed too much.
Half of aspartame is made up of a substance called phenylalanine. Some people will say that it is a natural substance so what could be wrong? It IS a natural substance but the problem is consuming it in large quantities. Phenylalanine is only meant to be consumed in extremely small amounts because once our bodies get too much of it, one of the disturbing side effects is that our threshold for seizure becomes lower.
Aspartame contains two more substances that are known to risk a person’s health: aspartic acid which is linked to lesions in the brain and methanol which is a known contributor of brain tumors.
Now you know why processed foods are a big no-no in the Paleo diet. They contain ingredients that are known to be very harmful to us humans and even though they have made our lives more convenient, we should still let go of them. Our lives can still be just as convenient even without them. Learn how to prepare or prep meals in advance so when the busy work week comes, you will have an easier time cooking your meal.

John Wheeler can help you answer the question of what is the paleo diet? Feel free to get his email course on the basics of the Paleo Diet at http://paleodietlearningcenter.com.

By Scott Deel
If this is your first approach at a Paleo or Primal diet after years of living on the SAD (Standard American Diet) it is likely you will have detox symptoms.

This isn’t so different than that of a drug addict but less severe. You will have insatiable cravings for foods, you may have flu like symptoms, and you may just have lethargy and general fatigue. This may be referred to as a Herxheimer reaction. This is typically relegated to those taking antibacterials and resembles bacterial sepsis but I use the term for detoxing, while maybe not clinically correct in its usage it does apply here.
Detox reactions are occurring due to the fact that you’re eliminating the diet of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract. The die-off of critters in your gut happens at such a rate that the liver cannot handle the load and the result is a feeling of malaise. There’s really little that one can do during this period which, depending on your state of health, may be a couple days or even weeks. Don’t let this discourage you from taking on the change in diet though. You may go in feeling awful but on the other side it is worth the trouble and the elimination of the bad bacteria floating around the body. A lot of Paleo websites fail to mention this portion of things since there may be trepidation of those looking to change their diet and lifestyle. All I can say is to stay the course with it.
Things that can help during Detox:

Candida is often the major culprit for this type of reaction while detoxing. When Candida (a form of yeast) dies it releases a toxin. A lot of people will get joint pains and or pains in the shoulder or neck area as the toxins are released from the yeast. I have read a handful of reports where people may experience multiple die-off periods as layers of bad bacteria are shed and some have rooted further into the intestinal lining. All of this bacteria leads to leaky gut syndrome where the bacteria have penetrated the gut lining and both good and bad items are freely floating past the intestinal wall into the body. This causes inflammation amongst other things and it will take some time for your body to repair.
Don’t give in to the cravings either. It’s not that your body needs a donut or a pizza. This is the bacteria talking, literally talking, to your brain and telling it that it is starving and needs sugar or carbs to keep going. This is not a healthy body response. Squash the urge, ingest some homemade bone broth, or a high fat food to kill the cravings. Rooibos teas are also mentioned as removing hunger cravings. Just know that certain food items such as gluten react in the intestines like an opiate and will signal to the brain to keep seeking that fuel to feed the bacteria. You are a food addict whether you like it or not. Understanding what is happening is half the battle here. Keep pushing along, stick with it, flush out the bad and welcome the new you once it is over. You’ll know it is over when your brain seems to function like the edge of a sword, sharp and crystal clear. You’ll also have renewed energy like you never had before.

For more information check out Alter Auslander where I write about current health issues, the Paleo Diet, Ketogenic Diets, Physical Fitness, and cover reviews on the latest books/cookbooks I use for a healthier new me and hopefully YOU.